Seeing Things
by Joyie
Summary: Since Molly could remember she'd had been able to see things that shouldn't have been there. Abnormal, supernatural things. Things her parents once called her imaginary friends. Things that her psychiatrist called her hallucinations. What did Molly call them? Pains in the ass.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I do not own Harvest Moon or any of the characters mentioned, nor am I affiliated with any of the companies that have rightful ownership over it.

Now, to those of you who have been reading 'Before I Met You', I'm sorry I broke my promise! I just couldn't help myself! This fanfic is a little different from BIMY though, since the protagonist is really weird. I think I'll probably be the only one who likes her. _"

Anyway, onwards with the first chapter. Reviews are appreciated, but don't be too mean or I'll cry. ('_');

* * *

**Chapter One**

_Fate's Overture_

Molly Ivers hated everyone.

Okay, so maybe hate is too strong a word. But it was close.

Preferring to be alone, Molly didn't like having to live, work and interact with others. Heck, she disliked just _talking_ to them. She coveted her privacy and her personal space and preferred to be alone whenever she could be. She believed that Jean-Paul Sartre said it best with that famous line from one of his plays: 'hell is other people'.

It didn't particularly bother her that people often thought she was weird and gossiped about her at work. Nor did it bother her that she literally had no friends. And it especially didn't bother her that she'd never been in a romantic relationship before. But it did bother her boss. It bothered him a lot.

"Molly," he began saying one day after calling her to his office.

She sat primly in a seat across the table from him, her chocolate brown eyes slightly glazed over as she stared at him blankly. She made no response to him calling her name.

"Molly," he began again, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "You've been at this company for how many years now? Five?"

Instead of speaking verbally, she held up four fingers on her right hand to correct him. She had been working for him for four years, having started at the company when she was twenty-two. She was now twenty-six.

"Oh yes, four years," her boss corrected himself, staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "It feels like only yesterday that you came into my office with that exemplary resume."

Molly once again made no response and simply stared through him. Not _at_ him; _through_ him. It was this nonchalant, uncaring stare that agitated the aging man more than anything else. It was like she was a robot that showed no sign of emotion. He couldn't understand what had happened to her to make her so despondent and apathetic towards other people. Troubled childhood maybe? Failed relationship? Regardless of the reason, he felt that it was a great shame that she wasn't putting herself out more. She was a pretty girl, and bright too; it was a wonder that she didn't have a husband or a boyfriend yet.

"You're a hard worker, Molly. You're efficient, get things done on time and you're not scatterbrained like the rest of the women in this office. However, you're what I call a 'solo agent'; you like to do everything by yourself and feel hindered by other people. Unfortunately, you cannot continue to work in this manner. Miss Hilson told me of how you effectively blew her off when she tried to speak to you about getting that Rogers & Rogers procurement proposal done last week. You were meant to do it together; not take on the whole work load by yourself," he told her sternly.

"Was there a problem with the proposal?" Molly asked, finally speaking for the first time since entering the room. Her face remained devoid of emotion, but it was clear from the tone of her voice that she was irritated.

"No. It was beautifully written as always," her boss answered.

"Then what's the problem?" she asked calmly, folding her arms across her chest.

The corner of her boss's eye twitched. "You were meant to work on it together. It was a two person job."

"The job got done. Why are you complaining?" Molly quipped back, her eyebrows drawing together ever so slightly in a frown.

"You need to work with other people Molly. You can't live your life shutting yourself away from everyone else," he said with a scowl. "If you refuse to co-operate with your colleagues then we will have a problem."

One of Molly's long eyebrows arched upwards questioningly. As far as she was concerned, the only 'problem' was with her colleagues complaining unnecessarily. They'd not had any issues with her taking on most of the workload before, not until that Freya Hilson showed up anyway. Being the new girl, Freya had obviously wanted to prove her worth with that project but had been denied the opportunity to do so when Molly refused to let her work on it.

"It's not just Freya that's complained, if that's what you're thinking," her boss added when Molly's eyes drifted over to Freya's desk which was visible through the glass walls of the office. "Others have mentioned it too."

"Mentioned, but never complained," Molly pointed out.

"You need to be more of a team player, Molly. United we stand, divided we fall, or so they say. If this problem persists, then I'll have no choice but to dismiss you," her boss stated warningly. He had only meant it as a scare tactic, hoping to force her into submission with the threat of her losing her job. But it backfired.

Rising from her chair, Molly ran a hand through her chestnut brown locks and looked down at her boss with a look of disgust that she'd been holding back for years. "Fine. I quit."

* * *

Molly sat up too quickly when she awoke the next morning and was greeted by a painful throb. Falling back into bed, she clutched her head moodily with one hand while the other blindly groped around on her bedside table for the television remote. Finally wrapping her fingers around it, she pointed the remote at her television and forcefully pushed the button down and watched as her television whirred to life. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she was greeted by news bulletins about stabbings, suicide bombings, corrupt politicians and rock stars dying of drug overdoses. _Just a never ending stream of shit_, Molly thought to herself as she tossed the television remote aside and rose from her bed. _We're despicable creatures really, humans. _

Listening to the news as she pulled on a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a comfortable black hoodie, Molly considered what she was going to do for the rest of the day. She had no job to go to, no friends to see, no pressing matters to attend to. Nothing. Part of her knew she should have felt bad about it, but in all honesty she was glad to have endless nothingness stretching out in front of her. Lazy and generally apathetic towards life, Molly was happy to just loll about her apartment doing nothing in particular. Most of her free time was spent surfing the internet or playing violent video games and she figured she might as well enjoy her sudden freedom a little before she started looking for another job.

When her mobile phone rang she rolled her eyes upwards with a scowl before scooping it up off of her dressing table and glancing at the caller I.D. It was her twin brother, Kasey.

"What?" Molly answered the phone brusquely.

"Good morning to you too, you little bitch," Kasey snapped. "Why did you quit your job?"

"Freak," Molly snarled as she headed out of her bedroom and into the kitchen.

"That's rich coming from you."

"Look Kasey, just tell me what you want already. I'm busy," Molly asked as she pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge.

"Busy with what? You're unemployed," her brother pointed out.

Molly took a swig from the milk carton directly, finishing it off and swallowed it loudly before she threw the empty carton into the bin. "I'm going to look for a new job."

"No you're not. You're going to spend all day surfing the internet. Ma's worried," Kasey said.

"Kasey, stop using your freaky shit on me and don't tell Ma what's happening in my life. It's got nothing to do with either of you."

"It's not like you don't use your 'freaky shit' either," Kasey said accusingly. "Just last Christmas you told Auntie Claire there was a troll sitting on her shoulder."

"Unlike you, I don't get to choose whether I see things," Molly replied as she leant against her fridge and stared up at the ceiling. "Now, if you're quite finished lecturing me, I'm going to go and have some breakfast."

Before her brother could reply, she hung up and put her phone on silent. She didn't want to hear anything else from him. Speaking to him reminded her of the fact that she and her twin were not exactly normal. While her brother sometimes saw glimpses of the future which proved useful, Molly wasn't quite so fortunate. Since she could remember she'd had been able to see things that shouldn't have been there. Abnormal, supernatural things. Things her parents once called her imaginary friends. Things that her psychiatrist called her hallucinations. What did Molly call them? Pains in the ass.

One pain in the ass decided to rear its ugly head as she was eating her Coco Pops later that morning and scared her half to death. Shrieking in fright, she accidently ripped out the page of the news paper she'd been reading and nearly overturned her bowl of cereal as a hunched shadow reached out a clawed hand to her in desperation and rasped out, "Please! Save me!"

"Fuck off!" Molly roared at the apparition. "Get the hell off my kitchen counter!"

"Please! Save me!" the shadow said, making a grab for Molly's hand.

She pulled it back sharply. "I can't help you! You're dead already! Just go and move into the light or whatever it is you things do."

The shadow, which was actually the spirit of a deceased person, froze for a moment. "I'm dead?"

"Yes. In case you haven't noticed, this isn't your apartment. And you aren't in a human body anymore. You're just a shadowy black thing that's floating around and freaking people out," Molly explained impatiently. "So go on, fuck off already."

"I... don't even remember... how I died..." the ghost said lamely as Molly's attention returned to her cereal.

"Hey, don't look at me for answers," Molly said with a mouthful of cereal.

"But you're the only one who can see me," the spirit pointed out.

"No I can't. This is just a figment of your imagination," she replied monotonously, pulling the torn piece of newspaper towards her and trying to put it back into place so she could finish looking at the page she'd been reading. As she put the newspaper back together, her eyes fixed on the tiny advertisement in the middle of the page that had been torn in half.

"Farm and surrounding farmlands for sale for only 5000G. Set in the sloping hills of the Cantata District, this remote farm is the perfect place for those looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy a quiet life in the countryside," Molly read aloud, her finger tracing the lettering carefully as she tried to imagine herself living on a farm. The idea seemed ludicrous at first, but the more she thought about, the more it seemed to appeal to her. She'd be living on her own, on a remote farm, in the middle of nowhere. Away from everyone. A smile crept to her lips at the thought. _It sounds perfect._

The spirit watched as Molly scribbled down the telephone number in the advert onto a pink post-it note and reached across for her mobile phone. Dialling the number quickly, she hesitated for a moment before hitting the call button.

"But what about me?" the spirit said, drawing Molly's attention to the fact that it hadn't left.

Molly looked dismissively at the ghost as she said, "Not my problem. Go find some other saviour."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Introit of Destiny_

It was snowing that day as Luke strutted into the town hall with a large grin just as Gill had finished stapling together the pages of the latest town leaflet. Brushing off the flakes of snow that had settled on his clothes as he was en route, Luke glanced up at the mayor's son with a cheeky grin as Gill stared back disapprovingly. As different as night and day, the two young men had never got along with one another. Gill's blue eyes met Luke's golden ones for a moment and the mayor's son felt a shiver of contempt run up his spine at the sight of the lumberjack; Luke had been the bane of his existence ever since they were kids.

"What do you want?" Gill asked Luke scathingly as Luke put his gloved hands onto the desk that separated them.

"Where's your dad?" Luke asked, leaning over to peer into the back room. "I need to ask him something about that farmhouse."

"He's not here," Gill replied dismissively, his eyes gliding down Luke's messy attire disdainfully. "And what do you want to know about it? I hope you're not planning to use it as a playhouse for Bo and Chloe again."

Luke's face fell. "How did you know?"

Gill rolled his eyes. "You better stop playing around in that house Luke. We want it to be habitable when the new owner of it arrives."

"Oh, someone's bought it already?" Luke asked, his eyes widening. "I didn't think anyone was going to buy that dump."

Gill shifted uncomfortably. "Well, no one's bought it yet. We just put the ad in the newspaper last week."

"Then can't we play in it till then?" Luke asked, his eyes lighting up hopefully. "At least until someone's shown some interest in it? We promise we won't make too much of a mess of it."

"No," Gill replied, frowning. "Now run along and chop something or whatever it is you do."

"Come on Gilly," Luke whined, clasping his hands together pleadingly. "Just let us play in it till someone decides to buy it. Please? Do you want me to get down on my knees and beg?"

"Please don't, that's disgusting," Gill replied, flinching back and grimacing at the look Luke was giving him.

"But it's not like anyone's going to seriously consider buying it yet. You said it yourself, you only put the ad in the paper last week," Luke reasoned. "And really, how much damage do you think two little kids are going to do to that big ol' farmhouse?"

"It's not Chloe and Bo I'm worried about," Gill replied, narrowing his eyes. "And I said no. No means no."

Suddenly the phone rang and the pair of them froze. The high pitch ring startled both of them. It startled Luke because he hadn't been expecting it and it startled Gill because he had a feeling he knew what the call was going to be about. Hesitantly, he reached out and picked up the phone.

"Good afternoon, this is the Harmonica Town Hall, how can I help you?" he said into the receiver, frowning at Luke who had begun pulling faces at him in a childish attempt to get him to laugh.

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone before a female voice answered, "The farm. I'm calling about the advert."

"It's a chick?!" Luke asked in astonishment, having just about strained his ears to hear who it was.

Before Gill could stop him, Luke leaned forward and tapped the loudspeaker button on the phone so that the woman's voice resounded throughout the town hall as she said, "I just wanted to ask a few questions about the property, if you don't mind."

"Hot," Luke whispered to Gill as the blonde went red-faced with anger. He reached out to press the loudspeaker button again but Luke slapped his hand away. "Dude, let me hear it," the lumberjack hissed.

"Goddess Luke, you're such a retard," Gill said louder than he had meant to. Remembering that there was someone waiting on the other end of the phone he hurriedly said, "Sorry about that. What was it that you wanted to know about the farm?"

Once more, a long pause preceded the woman's response. Luke shot Gill a questioning look and Gill merely shrugged.

"When the advert says it's remote, how remote are we talking about?" she finally asked.

"It's about a thirty minutes walk from the local towns and the roads leading up to it aren't wide enough to run cars down it. It's as remote as you can get without it being too inconvenient," Gill replied. "Are you interested in buying it?"

Again, there was another pause, but it was shorter this time. "When can I move in?"

"Excuse me?" Gill asked in disbelief.

"When can I move in? If I were to buy it now, how quickly can I move into the property?" the woman asked again, her voice turning steely with impatience.

"W-Well, as soon as all formalities are sorted out, you can move in whenever you like. The building is empty at the moment," Gill replied, flashing Luke a triumphantly smug smile.

Luke pouted before loudly announcing, "It's a shithole by the way."

Gill glared at Luke hard for a second before his blue eyes dropped back down to the phone in dismay. Had Luke's big mouth just ruined their chances of selling it?

"It doesn't matter about that," the woman replied almost instantly, not seeming to care that someone had blatantly been listening in on their conversation. "Whatever the condition of the building, I'll buy it. Please send my solicitors the contract and other necessary documents for the sale of the property. Do you have a pen ready to take the details down?"

"Y-Yes!" Gill exclaimed, grabbing a pen out of his pen pot and pulling a pad of paper towards him.

She gave him the address, telephone number and email address of her solicitor. Gill scribbled the details down frantically as Luke moodily leant against the table and frowned down at him, clearly put out that his plans for the derelict farmhouse had been thwarted by this woman on the phone. Luke was tempted to grab the phone and tell her that the house wasn't for sale anymore, but he knew that if he did such a thing he'd end up eating one of Gill's knuckle sandwiches. Surprisingly, Gill's fists hurt quite a bit; something that he'd found out when they were in eighth grade together and he'd tried to steal the other boy's tomato juice.

"Please send over the information promptly," she said once she was done giving Gill the details. "I want to move in as soon as possible."

"May I ask one thing?" Gill asked, putting down his pen and stretching his fingers out uncomfortably.

"What?"

"Why do you want to move to somewhere so remote so quickly?"

Yet again, there was a pause before she replied in a hardened voice, "It's none of your business. Just send the papers."

Then she hung up.

* * *

The Harvest Goddess stared up at her tree sadly as one of her sprites, Finn, sat on her shoulder weeping. The tree that was tied to her life force was no longer full of vitality as it once had been, but instead had grown withered and dry, having been completely forgotten by the local humans. As the tree continued decay over time the Harvest Goddess had felt her own life begin to wither away and now she was so weak that she was unable to leave the confines of the tree's private sanctuary.

"Finn," the Harvest Goddess began, taking the sprite off of her shoulder and cradling him in her arms like a mother would a baby. "You must do something for me."

"I don't want to leave you!" the sprite wailed, burying his head into her chest as he sobbed. "I'm scared you won't be here when I come back."

"This is why you _must_ go. You are the only one who can do this Finn. You're my only hope," the Goddess soothed. She stroked the sprite's head as he continued to sob into the front of her blue dress, clutching at the wispy fabric. "You must find someone for me. Someone who can see and hear us. Someone who will help. A pure heart."

"But Goddess, pure hearts are hard to find nowadays," Finn sniffled, looking up at her with tear misted eyes. "None of the humans in this area are able to see us. The closest we've been is the mayor's son, but he lost the ability to see us long ago. Being sent away to the city changed him."

"Someone is coming," the Goddess told him, her voice sounding faraway as she looked into the sky knowingly. "You must find them and bring them to me."

"A pure heart?" the sprite asked, his eyes widening. "You're sure?"

"It's drawing near. I can feel it," the Goddess said sadly.

"Why do you sound upset about it then?" Finn asked curiously, floating out of his mistress's arms.

The Goddess looked away thoughtfully for a moment before sighing. "A pure heart comes, uncorrupted by the world, but it has no faith."

"No faith?" Finn parroted. "No faith in you?"

The Goddess smiled weakly. "No, she believes in magic and the supernatural realm more than she wishes to. She would readily accept my existence if she were to meet me in person," she said, turning to look at her sprite. "It's humanity that she has no faith in. She has no faith in the human spirit."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Harmonica's Berceuse  
_

The boat that took Molly towards her new home noisily cut through the cold waters as she stood on the deck looking out in the direction they were heading. Wrapped up in a black woollen coat, a thick multi-coloured scarf and knitted mittens, she knew she ought to have been warm enough. In the city it would have been more than enough clothing to keep her warm against the seasonal winds but she hadn't considered that winters in Castanet would be much fiercer. In fact, she hadn't considered many things about her new home before she'd signed the contract for the farm she was now sailing to. It had been a reckless move.

"We're almost there missy," the captain of the boat, Pascal, shouted down towards her from his cabin.

Molly glanced up at him sharply, biting her tongue to stop herself from telling him to shut up and not talk to her. He'd been calling her 'missy' all throughout the journey and she'd been unable to brush off his friendliness when he tried to make conversation with her as she boarded the boat the day before.

Ramming her hands in her pockets, Molly squinted as she thought she saw the shoreline in the distance. Edging forwards, she placed her gloved hands on the boat's railings as she stared out at it. A whisper of a smile stole its way across her lips as she managed to get a look at Harmonica Town for the first time. It was just as she'd hoped. It was a sleepy seaside town with pastel coloured Cycladic-style buildings that were split on multiple levels and was overlooked by a grand looking church that sat proudly atop a steep hill.

"It's pretty isn't it?" Pascal called down to her with a grin.

Not turning to look up at him, she simply nodded once and her grip on the boat railing tightened with anticipation. Already she could feel the difference in the air that surrounded the town. It was clearer and less polluted than in the city, but Molly could tell that something wasn't right. As they drew ever nearer she couldn't shake the feeling that the town was in a state of stasis, like a sleeping creature that had yet to be woken. While she knew she ought to have been pleased by the peacefulness of her new home, she shuddered at the unknown feeling of dread that followed her as the boat drew closer to its destination.

* * *

Gill couldn't understand why he was so nervous. Fidgeting in his seat, he looked up at the clock behind him and frowned. The new owner of the farm would be arriving soon and he had all of the necessary documents laid out in front of him for when she arrived so that the paperwork process would be quick and painless. He was an efficient office worker and he was confident that everything would go smoothly, but why did he feel so anxious? Surely he wasn't shy? Gill shook his head at the idea and stared down at the page with her details. Molly Ivers. It was such an ordinary name and yet he knew that she was far from ordinary. He could tell just from their short phone conversation that there was something very different about her. Aside from her brusque and taciturn way of speaking there was something in her voice that seemed strangely familiar to him, as if they'd met before, and it bugged the hell out of him that he couldn't place her voice.

After another fifteen minutes the door to the town hall swung open and let in a chilling gust of wind as a stranger stood in the doorway. Gill was a little disappointed by what he saw. Somehow he had been expecting the new owner of the farm to be a stoic, stocky woman who was an experienced farmer that simply wanted to get as far away from the city as possible. Instead he found himself staring at a slim young thing that looked like she hadn't done a day's manual labour in her life. That aside, Gill thought she was pretty but in a very plain sort of way; not being nearly as beautiful as girls like Luna or Kathy nor as quirky cute as Maya or Phoebe; though he had to admit that there was something about her that was intriguing.

"Ms. Ivers?" he called out to her with what he hoped was a welcoming smile.

The woman wrinkled her nose in distaste before stepping inside, dragging her large suitcase along behind her and allowing the door to the town hall to shut behind her. Struggling with her bags, she eventually gave up trying to drag them along with her and simply dumped her duffle bag on the floor next to her suitcase before sauntering up to Gill's desk with a haughty expression.

"Are you Ms. Ivers?" Gill asked, wanting to clarify her identity before handing over the papers.

Her mouth formed into a grim line for a moment before she nodded, her eyes glancing sideward as she inspected the office area of the hall.

"If I could get you to sign here and here, as marked by the X's that should be everything. Once you're done with that I can hand over the transfer document and the title deeds to the property and we can sort out the extra costs of stamp duty and the land registry fees," Gill told her, handing over the forms to her. He watched her curiously as her chocolate brown eyes skimmed the form sceptically and he realised with growing surprise that he really _did_ know this woman from somewhere.

"Do I know you?" he asked her, tilting his head to the side as he considered her.

Molly's eyes rose from the page in front of her to meet Gill's and he jumped when he saw the look in them. Loathing. Pure, unadulterated loathing. This woman hated him. While her face remained devoid of emotion, her eyes blazed angrily at him and he fought back the urge to flinch away from the intensity of her glare. "No. I don't know you," she replied.

Deterred by her overall demeanour, Gill was discouraged from asking anything else. He watched her in silence as she filled out the form and signed it with a hasty flourish. Handing it over to him, she barely even looked at him, her eyes instead fixed on the clock behind him.

"Okay, so here's the deed and the transfer document," Gill told her, holding the deed out to her. She practically snatched it away and inspected it suspiciously before her expression cleared and the faint traces of a smile tugged at her lips.

"How do I get there?" she asked after a moment.

"I've arranged for Cain to give you a lift up to the farm, since it's on the way for him," Gill replied.

Molly frowned. "Cain?"

"He's the owner of the Horn Ranch down in Flute Fields. Your farm is on the way to his."

She nodded once before saying reluctantly, "Okay. Thanks."

After that she left and Gill let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in.

* * *

Once she was outside, Molly sighed and looked around aimlessly as she realised that she didn't know where this 'Cain' person was. She had been in such a hurry to get out of the town-hall before Gill remembered where he knew her from that she hadn't remembered to ask. It had been a pretty close call. Hoisting her bag up her shoulder, Molly tugged her suitcase along with her as she ambled over to what she assumed was the main path out of town.

The truth of the matter was that Molly did know Gill; they had both attended the same mainland university. While she hadn't personally known Gill since their two majors had nothing to do with one another, she remembered a few things about him. She remembered that he'd been the valedictorian at their graduation. She remembered that he was given many awards for scholastic achievement. She remembered that he'd been one of those golden boys around campus that all the teachers loved and all the girls wanted to date. And she also remembered seeing him lip locked with her brother's girlfriend in the campus library.

As Molly reached the main path she caught sight of a cart being pulled by two horses with a burly man sat up front reading a folded news paper. Upon catching sight of her, the man looked up and flashed her a friendly smile. "Molly?"

"Yes," she replied. "Are you Cain?"

"I sure am," he replied as he hopped off the cart. "I'm giving you a ride up to your ranch. Here, let me help you with those bags. You go on and jump in the back."

Cain helped Molly load her suitcase and duffle bag onto the empty cart as she awkwardly clambered into the back, feeling very uncomfortable that she was getting a lift to her new home in something as primitive as a wooden cart. However Molly knew not to look a gift-horse in the mouth and stayed silent as Cain hopped back into the front seat and urged the horses forward. He remained silent for the journey, sensing that Molly wasn't the talkative type and tactfully avoiding conversing with her too much. As they rode down the main pathway, Molly looked around at her new home and was once again hit by the sense that not all was right. To the normal human nothing was amiss; they would see nothing about the rocks, rivers, trees and animals that would cause alarm. However, Molly wasn't normal. Being special like she was, Molly could sense that a strong magic was ingrained into everything around her and that the source of this magic was fading.

When the cart finally stopped, Molly was jolted from her reverie. Turning to Cain she asked, "Is this it?"

"This is it," Cain replied with a nod.

After helping her with her bags, Cain offered to help her bring them to the house but she declined the offer and once he was off on his way she hurried up the long path to her new home. In spite of her wariness about the state of Castanet, she was excited about living there. It seemed so remote, so peaceful, so perfect for her. Somewhere between running and walking, Molly hurried up to her house with her keys in hand and grinned at how quaint it looked. Even though the red roof seemed to be falling down and the exterior looked like it needed a lick of paint, it had plenty of potential and she was thrilled that she'd found such a bargain. She was just about to shove the key in the front door lock when suddenly she heard a crash of furniture somewhere inside.

"Hello?" Molly asked quietly, her eyes wide in fear as she heard footsteps from within. She could hear more than one person moving around inside and she thought she heard a woman laughing. Why were there people in her house? Had she been scammed out of her money by being sold a house that was already occupied? Hesitating for a moment, she wondered whether she should run back to the town hall and demand an explanation or just confront the intruders herself. She decided on the latter.

Gently she slid the key into the lock as quietly as she could before grasping the brass handle and turning. With a creak the front door slid open and she peered inside to see that the house was mostly unfurnished except for a couple of pieces of furniture that had been left behind by the previous owner. It was dusty and dark, with all the curtains drawn except for one which was half torn and hung limply from the curtain rail. The beam of light that shone into the room hit an old wooden coffee table on which she could clearly see a lacy turquoise bra sitting on the surface.

Confused, Molly opened the door completely and peered around the living room area. She saw nothing and no one. Maybe she'd been imagining the footsteps and the giggle? Maybe the bra was just something left behind.

Leaving her bags at the door, Molly walked over to the coffee table and picked the bra up curiously but dropped it almost immediately. It was still warm.

"What the hell?" she muttered.

Then she heard a moan.

Alarmed, Molly headed across the room towards a door that had been left ajar and it was then that she noticed that the matching pair of lace panties that went with the bra hung on the door handle. She paused to look at the underwear in dumbfounded disbelief before she angrily kicked the door completely open.

There in the old bed, under an old grey duvet, were two people have sex. The unmistakeable smell of it hung in the air and she grimaced in disgust. Upon hearing the door getting kicked open, the man rolled off of the woman in a hurry and tumbled off the bed accidently as the woman dragged the old duvet over herself to cover up. In all his naked glory, the man looked up at Molly from his spot on the floor in abject horror while the woman merely sulked that they'd been interrupted.

There was a long protracted moment of silence as Molly stared down at the pair of them before a raw wave of rage swept over her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" she roared at the pair of them, causing them both to flinch.

"I didn't think you were arriving so soon," the man mumbled dumbly, still staring up at Molly with wide eyes. He made no effort to cover himself up until Molly looked away in prudish embarrassment, her cheeks growing red. He made a quick grab for his boxers as he said, "We're so sorry about this."

"You didn't answer my question," Molly pointed out angrily as she stared away from him while he clumsily got dressed.

"He doesn't have to," the woman replied haughtily, shifting in the bed and exposing a thigh as if she were trying to show off. "We're not doing anything wrong. The house is abandoned after all."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," Molly growled, turning to face the woman who was brushing a strand of her auburn hair out of her face. "I just bought the property, so technically you _are_ doing something wrong. I could have you both charged for breaking and entering. And don't even get me started about you having sex on that bed either."

"You're just jealous," the woman hissed with a nasty smile, casting the covers aside and strutting across the room boldly to retrieve her panties on the door handle.

Molly moved aside and looked away with disgust while the man ran a hand through his unkempt blue hair in frustration. Although he was shirtless, he was at least wearing his jeans and Molly appraised at him through narrowed eyes. He was tall and had the build of someone who either worked out a lot or did some sort of manual labour for their day job; she couldn't decide which. His gold eyes staying fixed on the ground in embarrassment and he looked everywhere but at Molly. _Well at least he has the good graces to look ashamed_, Molly thought as the other woman strutted around stark naked as she retrieved her clothes.

"Look, we're sorry about this," the man said sheepishly. "We were just exploring and... well... things got a bit heated."

"Who are you?" Molly asked, ignoring him.

His golden eyes finally rose to meet hers and Molly took a sharp intake of breath as she suddenly saw something floating just above his shoulder.

"My name is Luke," he said. "I'm guessing you're Molly."

Momentarily struck dumb, Molly made no verbal confirmation and merely nodded once in response.

"Come on Luke, let's go," the woman said as she threw Luke's t-shirt at him. "Don't want to upset the virgin anymore than we have to."

The insult slid right off of Molly, not affecting her in the slightest. She was too busy staring at Luke's shoulder to take too much notice of the woman's attempt to get a rise out of her.

"Again, we're sorry about this," Luke said as the woman dragged him out of the room by the wrist. "Really. I didn't know you'd be arriving. I mean, you were only talking to Gill on the phone a few days ago."

Remaining silent, Molly saw them out of the house and loudly slammed the door behind them before sliding down to the floor with her back against it. The reason for her sudden surprise earlier suddenly floated back into view and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as it perched on her bended knee. It took every amount of self-control she had not to swipe her arm outwards and knock it away from her in anger.

"Hey, you can see me, can't you?" the sprite in orange asked, grinning at her like he'd just won the lottery.

For a moment Molly considered pretending that she couldn't see it, but realised that she couldn't hide her ability forever if there was more that one sprite floating around.

"Yes I can see you, though I wish I couldn't," she replied tiredly as she unbent her knee and caused the sprite to topple down onto the floor. "I'm sick of tired of this supernatural shit following me everywhere. I just want to be left alone. Why can't you _things _understand that?"

"I'm not a _thing_, I'm sprite," the sprite replied, puffing up his chest and frowning disapprovingly at her. "You should feel privileged that you can see me."

Molly scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, privileged. I should feel privileged that little floating sprites pop out of nowhere and make me jump out of my skin in surprise. I nearly cried out in shock when you appeared from behind that guy's head just now."

"I'm not that scary am I?" the sprite asked her, looking hurt.

"No. You're not scary. But when I move out here to the middle of nowhere I don't expect to see sprites floating around my house. Much less in the middle of an awkward situation like earlier," she explained.

"Sorry about that," the sprite replied, not sounding at all sincere. "But I urgently needed to speak to you and I just couldn't wait any longer."

A bitter smile spread over Molly's lips. "I knew this was coming."

The sprite frowned again and walked along Molly's thigh until it was staring directly up at her. He considered her sternly with its beady black eyes as he said, "You need to come with me. There's someone who wants to see you."

"No," she replied instantly, folding her arms and shifting her thigh irritably.

"But you have to!" the sprite whined, suddenly looking desperate. "You're the only person who can see us. Everyone else on the island has forgotten about us and so we're not visible to them."

"Just because I can see you it doesn't mean I have to help you. I'm under no obligation to do such a thing," Molly replied, brushing the sprite off her leg and standing upright.

The sprite floated up to Molly's eye level with a pleading look and asked, "Why won't you help us?"

"Because I just want to be left alone. I'm lazy and I moved out here so I could live the way I want to without having to deal with things like you or people like them," Molly replied, pointing to the door which Luke and his companion just left out of. "I don't want anything to do with any of you. Just leave me be."

"This island is decaying," the sprite said in a small voice, looking down at the floor. "It's been happening so slowly over time that we didn't notice it until it's too late. Nobody believes in us anymore and we rely on the beliefs and prayers of the people to exist. Since nobody believes in us, nobody comes to pray and it's causing our magic to fade."

"Not my problem," Molly replied heartlessly, though she had to admit that she found it disconcerting that the cause of the strange atmosphere in Castanet was caused by something so blatantly supernatural.

Tears began to form in the sprites eyes as it stared back at Molly. "How can you be the pure soul we've been waiting for when you don't even have it in your heart to help us?"

"Pure soul?" Molly parroted dumbly.

"Yes. You're meant to be a pure soul. That's why you can see us," the sprite replied, wiping its eyes with its tiny hands. "You're uncorrupted by the world."

"I'm sorry but you've got it all wrong. I'm by no means a pure soul, I just happened to have been born with the ability to see things that shouldn't be there. You have no idea how many psychiatrists my parents sent me too because of this… ability."

"No!" the sprite said, shaking its head vehemently. "She said that you are a pure soul. She is never wrong!"

"She?"

The sprite looked stunned for a moment before replying in shock, "The Harvest Goddess. The patron Goddess of Castanet."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_The Goddess' Partita_

It took three days for the sprite to convince Molly to follow him to the Harvest Goddess' tree. In that time she learned that the sprite's name was Finn, he liked eating turnips and that he was a very bad singer. He was so bad that on the third day of listening to him sing 'A thousand bottles of beer' off-key, Molly finally gave in and agreed to follow him.

"Fine! Fine!" Molly shouted one night, covering her ears with her hands. "I'll come with you, just stop singing! Please! For the sake of my sanity!"

Finn smiled and sat down on Molly's shoulder as he said, "At last! My throat was starting to get a little hoarse."

"And my ears were about to start bleeding," Molly muttered grumpily as she pulled her coat on and grabbed her keys. "You better leave me alone after this. I'm just going to go there and speak to this 'goddess' of yours and tell her that I'm not who she's looking for. I'm going to clear up this misunderstanding and leave. Alright?"

With a knowing smile, Finn remained silent and stayed perched on Molly's shoulder as she locked up the house and started up the path towards the Garmon Mines district. It was already dark outside and the light of the moon cast a silvery light over Castanet. Molly was momentarily struck by how beautiful everything was and smiled to herself. She had barely left the house since moving in; only popping into Harmonica once to buy some supplies of food and drinks; and the cold winter night air was refreshing to her lungs. Directed by Finn, she followed the dirt path, crossed the rickety bridge by the waterfall and finally arrived at the Garmon Mine district. As she had expected, the place was deserted and the only sounds she could hear came from the waterfall and a nearby owl cooing loudly.

Turning her head to the sprite on her shoulder, she asked, "So where to now?"

Finn pointed his thin arm towards a slight parting in the trees next to the carpenter's shop. "Turn right here. Yes, that right. Now follow this path. Wait, no. No! Not through there! Through here! Look, see where the ground is slightly worn? Decades ago people used to come down here to visit the Goddess' tree a lot and this path became very worn down from use, but over the years people stopped visiting and the grass grew back."

Molly did as she was instructed and eventually she reached the edge of the small forest and was greeted by an unexpected sight. Instead of seeing a grassy grove with more trees, she found herself staring around what looked like an abandoned Romanesque atrium made of sand stone blocks that were cracked and worn down with age. In the centre was a large pool of clear blue water that seemed to shimmer strangely in the moonlight and she noticed that the few patches of grass that were visible seemed to sway in a gentle rhythm, even though there was no wind blowing through the area. It was almost as if something was pulsing through the air. Looking up in the direction of the pulse, Molly found herself staring up at a withered tree that only had a few sprigs of leaves left on it and an inexplicable feeling of sadness stole over her as she stared at it.

Timidly, Molly took a couple of steps down the stairs that led into the water and with one foot she tested the solidity of one of the fallen blocks of sandstone that sat on the bed of the pool as a sort of stepping stone. Convinced that it was solid enough, she stepped onto the stone and then repeated the process with each of the stepping stones until she was on the other side and could see the withered tree up close.

A small stream of water ran in a U-shape around the tree from some unknown water source and Molly knew without a doubt that this place was infused with a type of magic that she'd never seen before. In fact, she wasn't sure if she could even call it magic. It felt more like a raw power that seemed to pulsate and permeate everything.

Swallowing hard, Molly stared up at the tree expectantly before turning to Finn and asking in a hushed whisper, "So where is it?"

Finn smiled before floating off of her shoulder towards the tree. He stopped a short distance away before calling out in a surprisingly loud voice, "Harvest Goddess! Harvest Goddess! Please wake up! I brought her! I brought the pure soul! I brought Molly!"

Almost immediately, the pulsing that came from the tree strengthened and Molly felt the pulse pass through her body like sound waves would if you stood next to a loud amplifier that was playing music at full blast. Instinctively Molly wrapped her arms around her body and looked away as a sudden flash of light engulfed the surroundings, dazzling her momentarily. When the light subsided, she had to blink her eyes a couple of times to acclimatise them before turning back to the tree. What she saw next caused her breath to hitch in her throat.

Floating a short distance off the ground was the barefoot apparition of a woman dressed in a wispy turquoise fabric which matched the colour of her hair. Adorning her arms, neck, ankles and hair were silvery gold trinkets which jingled quietly, almost musically, as they collided with one another when she moved and the light fabric swayed very gently in time with the pulses coming from the tree, making it seem like gravity had a different set of rules around her. Her skin was pale, radiant, and her light blue eyes seemed to glow with the knowledge of unseen things that Molly could only dream of. She found it almost painful looking at such a beautiful creature and she was unable to form any intelligible words as her mind tried to work out what exactly she was looking at.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Molly," the apparition said to her. Her voice was pleasant, mellow, and seemed to echo around them.

Molly's mouth opened and closed a couple of times like a gaping fish as she struggled to think of what to say.

"I'm the Harvest Goddess. I'm the one who called you here," the apparition said gently, inclining her head towards Molly slightly.

"What _are_ you?" Molly finally managed to say, her voice shaking.

"I am what I am," the apparition replied cryptically. "And I need your help, Molly. As the power of this tree has weakened, so has the power of nature. Water, fire, earth and wind have all lost their strength and vitality. Even the people have noticed the weakening of the elements within the land."

"I don't believe this," Molly said suddenly, taking a step away from the apparition with disbelieving, contemptuous eyes. "You can't be a deity. A deity wouldn't need the help of a mere mortal like me. This is all a lie. You're really just an earth bound spirit with pretty special effects. I refuse to believe that I was summoned by a _god_."

The apparition looked sad for a moment, stretching out a hand towards Molly pleadingly. "Please do not be frightened child."

"I'm not frightened!" Molly yelled. "You're just a ghost! So stop bothering me and just leave me alone! I want nothing to do with you and your pathetic quest to 'save the elements'. It's got nothing to do with me and I don't want to get involved!"

Without warning the water from the pool shot up into the sky like a geyser before arching over the tree's glade like a dome as the apparition's eyes glowed brighter with anger. With a dangerous scowl, the apparition floated towards a startled Molly and grasped her chin, forcing her to look directly into those terrifyingly beautiful eyes that seemed to see straight through her. The roaring of the water filled Molly's ears and blocked out all other sounds as the apparition's touch sent shivers through her. As she stared into the glowing depths of those eyes, a single tear ran down Molly's cheek.

'I _am_ a god,' a voice said in Molly's mind. The apparition's mouth did not move, but she knew that it was her voice. 'I am a god and have the terrible powers of one. Powers to create and destroy. To break and fix. I have the power to change the very shape of this land with a single thought. It is a power that you must learn to accept and respect, or I will take your very life as a sacrifice to appease my temper.'

A whimper escaped Molly's lips as tears began to fall unabated from her eyes while her lip trembled with emotion. She was terrified and if it wasn't for the grip that the goddess had on her chin she would have slumped to the fall in a trembling wreck.

'You believe. I know you do,' the voice continued as the goddess tilted its head to the side and considered her thoughtfully. 'You can see what other people cannot. You are both gifted and cursed to see beyond the superficial world which other mortals see. Have you ever wondered why you have this ability? Has it ever crossed your mind that you are not mortal yourself and that you are, in fact, part of this supernatural world that you so despise?'

Molly shook her head in response, scrunching up her eyes as she let out a loud sob. The goddess' grip on her chin tightened and Molly opened her eyes to see that she was smiling at her. 'You are a pure soul. Pure souls are rare to find nowadays because society no longer raises children to believe in magic anymore; science and science alone is all it cares about. But you... you were not born of pure mortal stock and so you have lived with ability to see and feel magic all your life. You have had no _choice_ but to believe. It is what has kept you pure in spite of societal conditioning. This is why it _must_ be you that helps me.'

"I'm not of pure mortal stock?" Molly asked, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

'No, you are not,' the goddess replied, smiling knowingly. 'Whilst you were in the womb you and your brother were touched by a very specific type of magic that the both of you absorbed. What that magic is, I cannot tell you, but it changed the very fabric of your existence.'

"How? How were we touched? I don't understand."

'You may never understand, but you should stop questioning it and embrace it. It is what makes you special and elevates you above your mortal peers. It is what makes you right for this job.'

"Why can't you do it yourself?" Molly whispered, trembling in fear that the goddess would become angry at her question.

The goddess looked sad as she replied, 'While I can alter the landscape and shape the surroundings, I have no influence over the people of this land. Free will is a gift mortals don't appreciate enough and it is only through the help and assistance of the inhabitants of Castanet that you will be able to accomplish what I cannot. This is why you must overcome that hatred you feel towards your own kind, Molly. I can feel that raw, anguished emotion inside of you and it's eating you alive.'

Finally the goddess released Molly's chin and the watery dome that had surrounded them retracted back into the pool. There was a slight ringing in Molly's ears as she took a step back from the goddess and she felt everything in her body shaking.

"You will help me," the goddess finally said with her own voice as she stared sternly at Molly. "You will help me even though you do not want to. You will help me because I'm not going to give you a choice."

Still shaking, Molly didn't say anything as she continued to look up at the goddess in terror. Sensing her fear, Finn floated over to Molly and landed on her shoulder before gently stroking the side of her face in an attempt to soothe her. However Molly flinched away from his touch and looked at him in a similar expression of fear.

Without another word, Molly started running. Even though she felt too weak from shock, fear propelled her onwards as she dashed across the stepping stones of the atrium, through the trees and back to the Garmon Mines. She didn't stop until she reached her house, and when she did she slammed the door shut behind her and slumped to the floor where she began to cry like a child.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm glad you guys find Molly's personality a refreshing change! I'm super psyched about this story simply because I can't wait to see how Molly's personality and outlook on life is going to change and be shaped by the events of the story. It's mostly going to follow the storyline of the game, but with obvious romantic twists and drama stemming from the fact that Molly hates having to interact with people. It's a real challenge to be honest, but it's a fun one. I'll probably have the next chapter up towards the end of this week.

As for the goddess's behavior in this chapter: I was trying to make her more 'realistic'. God's in fiction aren't always very nice and I didn't feel that a sugar coated version of the Harvest Goddess would have gotten through to Molly.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_Intermezzo of Resolve_

Molly wasn't sure how long she had been lying on the floor for. Time seemed to yawn out in front of her endlessly as she replayed the scene at the atrium over in her head again and again. Fear shuddered through her as she re-examined every minute detail she could remember from her memory and she came to the terrifying conclusion that it definitely had not been a nightmare. How could she have been so _stupid_? Of course that beautiful creature had been a god. Had she not sensed it in the air as she stood in front of the tree? Didn't that place remind her of the ancient Native American burial site she'd visited with her brother when they were young? Frightening as it was, she couldn't deny that the burial site and the goddess's atrium shared one common element: it was sacred ground. Being neither evil nor good, the atmosphere in the air had been markedly different from any she'd come across.

It had grown light already by the time she picked herself up off the floor. The winter sun had begun its slow morning ascent into the sky as it peeked through her curtains shyly, casting beams of light through the dusty room that she still hadn't found the time to clean. Half empty boxes were dotted around the place and her belongings were slung messily across the few surfaces there were. She hadn't cared enough to unpack in an orderly fashion and as she stood looking around at her apartment she realised that there was only one thing she could do to get out of 'helping' the goddess.

She had to leave.

As soon as the thought formed in her mind, she began move. Numb and exhausted from lack of sleep, she began to hastily pack. She left behind the unimportant things she didn't need, like her hair dryer and her books, bringing only the few bits and pieces that she would need once she got home. Sure, she'd sold her apartment in the city and didn't have a job, but she could stay with her parents right? Or maybe Kasey would offer room and board to her for a while? Yes, of course he would. He probably already knew that she was on the way home and was preparing a make shift bed for her as she packed. All she had to do was get off the island and she'd be home free.

Frantic with fear that the Goddess might catch wind of her plan to escape, Molly zipped up her suitcase and left the house as quick as she could. She was in such a hurry that she didn't bother locking the door and practically sprinted down the path that led to the main road. Hungry and tired, she was running on pure nervous energy as she hastened down the road towards town. She considered praying for the boat to be at the dock when she got there, but decided against it when she remembered what she was up against. Gods heard prayers, didn't they?

Dragging her suitcase along with her haphazardly as she reached the town, she drew the stares of the locals but simply ignored them. It was difficult to do, considering the fact that they were muttering and whispering about her. She knew she ought to have been used to it by then, but she hated feeling their judgement. The human propensity to judge too easily was one of the reasons why she hated being around other people in the first place; she didn't like feeling like she had to posture and pretend to be someone she wasn't simply because she wanted them to like her.

"Molly, what… Where are you going?" a voice called out to her as she rolled her suitcase through the streets of the sleepy town.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw Gill following her. He was wrapped up in cream coloured trench coat with a blue scarf secured around his neck. Hands jammed in his pockets and eyes narrowed suspiciously, he didn't show any signs of leaving her be and she let out a little sigh of annoyance as she stopped her progress and half turned to him.

He looked down at her suitcase. "Are you going somewhere?"

Her jaw quivered slightly as she struggled to think of what to say to him. What would be the quickest way to get him to leave her alone? Make up an excuse? Or should she be more literal?

"I'm running away from a Goddess and a magical floating sprite that are trying to bully me into reviving the elements of the land so that the goddess's tree will be saved," she blurted out, hoping she sounded like a crazy person.

Gill froze at hearing her words and she tried not to smile at the look of confusion written across his face. She waited patiently for him to either laugh or ask her if she was on something. He did neither.

"You can see them?" he asked, seeming to see her in a new light.

The corner of Molly's eye twitched as she realised with growing dread that her plan had back fired. Clearly acquainted with the magical elements of Castanet, Gill had believed her bizarre sounding story and was staring at her with curiosity. Unable to think of anything to say to him that would discourage him from following her, Molly turned away again and continued to hurry along the street without acknowledging his question.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" he called after her, jogging to catch up. "You can't just _leave_!"

"Watch me," she replied nastily as she looked up at the dock and saw that the boat was there. Relief rushed through her like adrenaline as she saw it and she picked up her pace excitedly.

Gill followed closely behind. "Why are you running away? What did she say?"

"It doesn't matter," Molly replied. "I'm going home. I'm not staying here a minute longer!"

Frustrated with her reluctance to stop, Gill grabbed her wrist and gave it a yank, forcing her to come to a stop with a jerk. Furious, she whipped round to face him.

"Talk to me," he said with a scowl. "Tell me why you're running."

"Because I don't want to help _you_ people," Molly replied with a hiss. "I don't see why I have to be harangued into helping a community of people I don't know or even want to know. Why must it be me that has to deal with all the aggravation?"

He kept a firm grip on her wrist as he said, "You're the only one who can see them. That's probably why the goddess even thought to ask you in the first place."

"Well it sounds like you can see them, so why don't you do it?" she asked while trying to tug her wrist out of his grip.

Gill let go of her. "I lost my ability to see them," he replied regretfully. "When I was younger I could see them, but I was too young back then to be of any help. I figured I could help them when I was older and so I went off to study on the mainland in the hopes that I could use what I learned there to help save the island."

Molly scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Of course, it just had to be you, didn't it?"

"What?"

"_You're_ the reason I'm even in this mess," she explained with a sneer. "If you hadn't lost your ability to see them, she wouldn't have even bothered me."

"I don't know why I lost my ability," he replied huffily. "But that's beside the point. The point is that this island and all its inhabitants need your help and you're not willing to give it. You have no idea how many families and livelihoods you would be saving if you stayed and did as the goddess asked. Farmers can't grow crops anymore, fish are scarce in the water and even the fires around the island don't burn as brightly. Do you have any idea how hard these combined issues are hitting the people that live here?"

"I. Don't. Care," Molly said, enunciating every word clearly.

"You're heartless," Gill said in disgust. "Utterly heartless. To begin with I thought you were just a stuck up bitch, but you're worse than that. You're… you're empty. No sense of morality or social responsibility."

Gill's words hit Molly harder than she had expected. Unlike the typical insults that people had tossed her way over the course of her lifetime, his words hit home with startling ferocity. Sense of morality? Social responsibility? Did she really lack those things by choice? She bit her bottom lip hard as she thought about this and glared back at him. Looking at him angered her further as memories from years ago resurfaced.

"How dare you lecture me on morality and social responsibility?" she asked venomously. "Do you want to know why you lost your ability to see those darling little sprites that you're so eager for me to help? Hmm? It's because you lost your purity when she went to study on the mainland. The luxurious lifestyle and the glamour of being surrounded by all those fawning girls changed you." She reached out and jabbed hard at his chest with two of her fingers. "You dirtied your soul and lost your belief in magic when you fell prey to the one vice that all men can't resist: lust."

His blue eyes blinked dumbly at her. "H-How do you know-" he began to say, but he stopped when it suddenly hit him. He remembered where he knew her from. "Anita. The library. You were the one that saw us."

"Yes. Anita was my brother's girlfriend," Molly replied scathingly. "It broke his heart when I told him. He had never loved a girl as much as he'd love her."

"I don't see what that has to do with-" Gill began again, but she cut him short.

"It has everything to do with it," she said impatiently. "You acted immorally. You knew that she was dating someone else, but you still encouraged her to cheat on Kasey. That's all it takes to corrupt the soul you know; one transgression and that's it."

"So then why are you able to see them? Surely you've made mistakes," Gill asked.

She frowned bitterly. "I'm not like you."

"What do you mean?"

"Your ability to see these _things_ was tied to the purity of your soul. Mine isn't," she explained. "I was born different."

"I still don't get it," Gill said dumbly.

She sighed tiredly. "Look, I don't know how it works. I'm just different, okay? The goddess said that I wasn't pure mortal stock, which means my powers are rooted in my genetics, not my soul. My ability is what keeps my heart pure even though I'm like _this_."

"So you're incorruptible, that's what you're saying?"

Molly threw her hands up in frustration. "Evidently, since I'm being harassed by magical beings that I'd rather not see!"

"You know, this doesn't change the fact that what you're doing is wrong," he pointed out. "Even if I might not be the best person to lecture you on morality and the difference between right and wrong, it doesn't make a difference to the situation. Hundreds of people are being affected by what's happening here and you won't help them. A slight inconvenience to you versus the livelihoods of hundreds. It's pure selfishness."

She knew he was right. Deep down, in spite of her own wish to escape, she knew that she was just being selfish. As she thought about this, she saw a couple of children playing in the street behind him. A young boy with spiky blonde hair was chasing a red haired girl around with a stick on which a caterpillar dangled precariously as the girl shrieked in disgust.

"Empathy is a weakness," Molly said, more to herself than to Gill. "I don't want to be made weak by sympathising with people I have nothing to do with."

"Empathy can be a strength if channelled correctly," Gill replied, glancing over his shoulder at the children. "And I know that under all that hostility you have it."

She continued to watch the children until they finally realised they were being watched. They stopped running around as they both turned to look at her and the innocent curiosity on their faces made her realise that they were still blameless and unknowing about the world. A silent struggle was waged within herself as her conscience and her selfishness warred with one another for control of her next actions.

Selfishness won.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not going to get drawn into this."

With her decision made, she continued to roll her suitcase over to the start of the dock, but suddenly there was a deafening rumble and the ground began to shake violently. As buildings shook and people scrambled for safety, Molly's first thought was to hit the floor. She'd never experienced an earthquake before and she made a grab for a nearby wall as her legs gave way under the tremor. Glancing over at Gill, she noticed that he'd done the same, though he didn't seem half as surprised by the quake as she was. It was as she was staring at him that she heard a wail from nearby.

"Taylor!" she heard a child cry.

Remembering the children nearby, Molly turned in their direction and saw that the little boy had lost his footing at the edge of the nearby split level pathway and was dangling from the short wall at the border. The little girl was desperately trying to help her friend up, but she was struggling to maintain her grip on his arm as the quake continued.

After seeing this, Molly's body moved as if it wasn't her own. Letting go of the wall, she scrambled towards where the kids were as bits of debris were shook loose and fell through the air. A flower pot from the level above landed just a few inches away from her as she reached them, but she could only focus on one thing and one thing only: getting that boy to safety. As she threw her arms over the border, she saw that he was crying. Fear was written all over his little face and he desperately scrambled to accept her help as she made a grab for him. With sweaty palms, Molly used all her strength to pull him up as the little girl next to her sobbed loudly whilst staying crouched on the ground. Once the boy was over the border, he collapsed against Molly as she pulled the two kids towards her and tried to cover their heads and necks as best she could with her arms.

The quake dissipated after another few seconds and as it stopped the two children tried to get out from under her. She stopped them though, keeping their heads low as she raised hers first to check that they weren't in any immediate danger. The state of the town after the quake was frightening. What was even scarier was that she could just about see tsunami waves rolling in from the sea and she knew that they weren't clear of the danger yet.

Patting the two children on the back she said quickly, "You guys find your parents and get to higher ground. Quickly now."

The two children sobbed their thanks at her before scurrying off and Molly looked up at the nearby hill which led up to the church. She got to her feet unsteadily before turning to Gill and saying, "You need to get everyone to higher ground."

He stared up at her dumbly for a moment before asking, "I thought you didn't want to help us. Why do you care all of a sudden?"

"This isn't the time for this!" Molly spat, reaching down and grabbing him by the arm. "Go tell your father to get a megaphone or something and get everyone to go up to that church!"

Gill hurried to do as he said and Molly grabbed her suitcase before turning to hurry up the hill. Thankfully most of the inhabitants knew that the tsunami was coming and had started hurrying up the hill towards the church already. When she reached the top, she spotted the two children with people she assumed were their parents and she gave them a brief wave as they smiled appreciatively in her direction.

"Attention! If you have not already done so please head to higher ground as we expect a wave to hit within the next couple of minutes! Please, leave your homes and head up towards the church!" she could someone, she assumed it was Gill, say over a loud speaker somewhere in town.

As the townspeople crowded around the plateau in front of the church, Molly took a seat on a nearby bench and pulled her knees up to her chest and watched everyone. The whole town was disturbed by what had happened, but judging from the weary looks they were wearing this wasn't the first time they'd experienced an earthquake. They watched the tsunami waves hit with hardened expressions and when the waves died down they went back home to salvage what they could. It was strange seeing such stoicism from a community. Although some of the children cried in the wake of the earthquake, the adults looked resigned to what had happened.

Gill approached her when most of the townspeople had left and he took a seat next to her on the bench as she silently contemplated what she was going to do.

"These quakes started happening a few years ago," he told her.

She tucked her chin behind her knees as she asked, "Does this has something to do with that tree?"

"Can't say for certain, but I think it does," he replied. "Things have been getting worse recently. That was the first quake in a few months, but other things have happened that further compound the problem. Unbearable heat in summer, deadly frost during winter; extreme weather of all kinds really. This past year in particular has been really tough." There was a pregnant pause before he said, "I saw what you did earlier. For those kids."

Molly didn't say anything and simply stared ahead of her at the trees as they swayed in the harsh winter winds. Cold numbness had wrapped itself around her and she knew from the tingling sensation that ran up her nose that it was probably the same bright red hue that her cheeks were.

"You need to stay," Gill told her, though this time he spoke in a gentler tone. "There's no telling what will happen to this place if you leave."

Wordlessly, Molly stretched her legs out and got to her feet. Dragging her suitcase along with her, she left Gill sitting in front of the church and headed back home.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the reviews everyone and I'm sorry that it took so long to update! Real life issues, as I said in my BIMY A/N. Life changing decisions made (break-up with bf, decision to move to Japan to teach English etc), so my creativity was stifled for the most part. Anyway, here's the fifth chapter. I had big problems writing this. I actually tried writing a chapter for this story first before I did the chapter update for BIMY, but I had such problems that I dropped it and started on BIMY instead. It was meant to be the turning point for Molly's way of thinking, but I could never portray it without my Molly!Muse turning around and giving me the finger, so I did a HG and threw an earthquake at her. But yeah, thanks for reading and leave me a review if you have any questions or comments.


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